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Guest blog: Absent respondeat superior, a negligent entrustment action should not impose vicarious liability on the entrustor

In F.F.P. Operating Partners v. Duenez, 237 S.W.3d 680, 686 (Tex. 2007), the Texas Supreme Court stated that negligent entrustment is a form of vicarious liability. The basis for imposing liability on the owner of the object entrusted to another is that ownership of the object gives the right of control over its use (Id.). But perhaps … Continue Reading

Stories of Recovery: A Rocky Road to Sobriety

Editor’s note: This post is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s Stories of Recovery series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) and find more information at tlaphelps.org. I started drinking in high school and immediately liked the way it made me feel. … Continue Reading

A Lawyer’s Story

Death, drugs, and depression have gained gradual attention within the legal profession. Only a decade or two ago, few would even expel a whisper concerning these issues. But news organizations and films increase needed attention by providing a glimpse into a world most do not understand. In The New York Times last summer (July 15, … Continue Reading

Stories of Recovery: Becoming an Alcoholic

Editor’s note: This post is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s Stories of Recovery series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) and find more information at tlaphelps.org. Sometimes I am insecure explaining how I became an alcoholic. I felt like I should … Continue Reading

Stories of Recovery: My personal story is one of success—and mental illness

By C. Kelly Rentzel Editor’s note: This post is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s Stories of Recovery series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) and find more information at tlaphelps.org. According to a recent study, those who score top grades in … Continue Reading

Stories of Recovery: In Law School, I Partied My Way to Notoriety; Now I’m Building a Foundation for Sobriety

Editor’s note: This post is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s Stories of Recovery series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) and find more information at tlaphelps.org. My first experience with alcohol at age 13 should have been as good a deterrent … Continue Reading

A New Day for Children

It is a new day for our most precious resource—our children. The creation of the State Bar of Texas Child Protection Law Section became a reality on January 26, when the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors voted unanimously to form the new section. Both the Family Law and Juvenile Law sections enthusiastically supported … Continue Reading

Stories of Recovery: It’s a Disease, Not a Character Flaw (And It Won’t Get Better on Its Own)

Editor’s note: This post is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s Stories of Recovery series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) and find more information at tlaphelps.org. There is no doubt that I am an alcoholic, and there is no doubt that … Continue Reading

Update from State Bar President Tom Vick—Nov. 17, 2017

Editor’s note: State Bar of Texas President Tom Vick sent the following message to members Friday.  If you haven’t already, you should soon receive a letter in the mail from your State Bar district director(s) on some of the bar’s latest projects and member benefits. The letter is part of a board initiative to better … Continue Reading

Stories of Recovery: No More Drinking Games

Editor’s note: This post is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s Stories of Recovery series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) and find more information at tlaphelps.org. I am a lawyer celebrating my first year as a solo. I am a horse … Continue Reading

Disaster-Response Lessons for Lawyers and Law Firms

By Teresa Schiller Hurricane Harvey made landfall after days of weather reports and news updates in August 2017. Some of the preparation was last-minute as residents scrambled for safety. Other preparation had begun years earlier, based on lessons learned in responding to other disasters. When the rain subsided, we learned that families and businesses had … Continue Reading

Stories of Recovery: ‘Half the man I used to be and twice the man I ever was’

Editor’s note: This post is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s Stories of Recovery series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) and find more information at tlaphelps.org. I am supposed to be dead! I weighed over 350 pounds, had high blood pressure, borderline … Continue Reading

Guest blog: Directing a dispute resolution center

By Tammie S. Haynes On a beautiful autumn day, I walked into the redbrick Montgomery County Courthouse annex to a nondescript back hallway. Halfway down a line of chairs along the wall, a lone man sat with his hands clasped, elbows resting on his knees, his head bowed. On a door, a plaque read “Dispute Resolution … Continue Reading

Stories of Recovery: An attorney with bipolar disorder gets back on track

Editor’s note: This is the second of four special posts in the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s Stories of Recovery series for National Suicide Prevention Week (September 10-16). TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) and find more information at tlaphelps.org. … Continue Reading

Stories of Recovery: BPD and me

Editor’s note: This is the first of four special posts in the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s Stories of Recovery series for National Suicide Prevention Week (September 10-16). TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) and find more information at tlaphelps.org. … Continue Reading

Hurricane Harvey: Employer considerations in office closures and reopenings

Whenever emergency situations such as Hurricane Harvey cause office closures and such offices are subsequently reopened, Texas employers must remember several points to stay compliant with employment laws. •     In general, employees who are classified as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime provisions must be paid a salary … Continue Reading

Vick calls Texas lawyers to action in wake of Harvey

Editor’s Note: State Bar of Texas President Tom Vick sent the following message to members today.  As I write these words, many Texans are suffering the ravages of Hurricane Harvey and many are still in harm’s way. This is a trying time for our state and our country. This is a time when mere words … Continue Reading

Vick: State Bar has legal resources to help during Harvey

By G. Thomas Vick Jr. When disasters like Hurricane Harvey strike Texas, the State Bar of Texas serves as a hub of legal and recovery-related resources for Texans and Texas lawyers (visit texasbar.com/disasters). First, the State Bar operates a legal hotline—(800) 504-7030—that helps people find answers to basic legal questions and locate recovery resources in … Continue Reading

Stories of Recovery: The Problem Was Me

Editor’s note: This post is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s Stories of Recovery series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) and find more information at tlaphelps.org. We lawyers are all pretty clever. We spend our careers trying to distinguish our facts … Continue Reading

Guest blog: The life of a small-town attorney

I have lived in Houston almost my entire life and have always considered myself an urbanite. My wife and I love the trappings of the city—musicals, museums, and dim sum, to name a few. But in June I moved to San Angelo, with a population of about 100,700, and you cannot convince me to go … Continue Reading
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